The Wheel

 

In an effort to tie in with the release of Taylor Swift's new album, "Life of Showgirl" (unless you live in a cave, you may have heard about it), the Heinz History Center made a post on social media over the weekend about the establishment that you see pictured on the left, The Wheel Cafe, located on Forbes Street in downtown Pittsburgh between Smithfield and Wood Streets, and to tie it in with other types of "showgirls" from Pittsburgh's past.  

I'll get to that part a bit later, but seeing pictures of The Wheel brought back a lot of fond memories to The Grandstander.  I had first heard about the joint from my Dad, who lunched there often during his working career in the city. When I started going to Robert Morris College  in 1970, it was quite convenient to go there for lunch myself.  Sometimes I would meet my Dad there for lunch, and if memory serves me correctly, I courted a young RMC co-ed named Marilyn Moellenbrock there on many an occasion.  I also distinctly remember eating there with my Dad and my two brothers on the morning of December 23, 1972, and then hopping on a shuttle bus to Three Rivers Stadium  where we watched a little sporting event that came to be known as The Immaculate Reception Game.  When I came back to Pittsburgh in 1978 and worked in Gateway Center for Equitable Life, I had lunch there regularly (often times with that same now former RMC co-ed, who I had married in 1974) right up until the time The Wheel closed its doors in 1985.  I seem to recall that The Wheel tried to make a go of it at a new location on Smithfield Street, but it was just not the same, and it didn't last long.

The Wheel was a dark and somewhat dingy place, but it was clean, and it served really good lunch fare.  My favorite was "The Regular", a grilled ham and cheese sandwich served on a nice crusty roll.  It was a great place for business men and women (and college students) to stop for a quick sandwich and a beer (or soft drink) for lunch.  It was a place that had a distinct personality and character, and joints like that just aren't around anymore.

Now, as to the "showgirl" theme.  The Wheel opened in 1936 and it was located just a few doors down from the Casino Theater.  The Casino, which closed in 1965, was a burlesque house during a time when burlesque was respectable and striptease was considered an art form.  History  tells us that between and after shows at the Casino, the performers, including the, ahem, showgirls, would stop in at The Wheel for drinks and a meal.  The girls would leave autographed pictures at the place, like this one from the legendary Tempest Storm....

,,,and all of these pictures were hung above the bar.  Those old photos from the forties and fifties remained hanging above the bar in all of their faded and black and white glory right up until when the place closed down.

I was told by my father, a wise man in so many ways, that the name of the place came from the nickname for the circuit that the burlesque performers traveled as they practiced their art form, "The Peel Wheel".  I never had that confirmed, and a Google search today gives a different spin on the term "peel wheel" as it relates to burlesque, but I like my Dad's version, and I'm sticking to it.

Thanks to my friends at the Heinz History Center for stirring up some pretty cool memories for me.